Logical Reasoning

Introduction

Important Tips for Logical Reasoning

Before you try to answer a few sample questions on LR section for CAT 2017 exam, here are some general test-taking tips that should help you with the Logical Reasoning section.

Study the question carefully. A brief explanation of why each choice is correct or incorrect follows each practice question. If you understand this reasoning for the practice items, you will do well on the actual assessment.

NEVER assume or use any information that the question fails to give you. This is NOT an assessment of how much you know about economics in general. Consider ONLY the information given in each reading passage when choosing among the alternative responses.

Read both the factual passage and the sentence completion instruction carefully. Both must be considered in making your choice. Be sure to read all the response choices carefully before choosing one.

In questions that ask you to select a valid conclusion, always choose the one conclusion that must definitely follow from the information you are given. In questions that ask you to find the invalid alternative, choose the one conclusion that does not definitely follow from the information.

Pay special attention to words like "all," "some," or "none" when you read the factual information each question gives you. Other qualifying words such as "other than," "only" or "unless" are important, too. These words can play a critical part in precisely specifying the facts to be used in your reasoning.

Pay attention to negative prefixes also, such as non-, un-, or dis-. These can be crucial to specifying the basic facts in the paragraph. "Test-taking" courses or your college instructors may have advised you to avoid any response choices that contain the quantifiers "all" or "none." In both the practice questions here and in the actual economist assessment, these words are NOT signs of incorrect response choices. They will appear in both correct and incorrect response choices.

Pay close attention to the word "ONLY" and to the phrase "IF AND ONLY IF." Saying "The door will open IF AND ONLY IF both keys are used" sets up a highly specific condition that must be met. There is exactly one way to open the door-you must use both keys. By contrast, if the sentence says, "The door will open if the key is used," there may be several ways to open the door besides by using the key.

The questions in the assessment will vary in difficulty level, and difficult questions will be mixed in with easier ones throughout the assessment. When you encounter a question that is difficult for you, try drawing diagrams or other schematic notes on the "scratch" paper provided to support and confirm your thought processes. Also, bear in mind that you can stop working on a difficult question temporarily and return to it later.

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Questions with Solutions

PARAGRAPH FORMING (PARA JUMBLED QUESTIONS)

What are Para Jumbled Questions?

It consists of a group of sentences that have been jumbled up. The goal in these types of sentences is to rearrange the sentences in the original sequence. In para-jumble questions, you will be given a paragraph made of four to five sentences whose original sequence has been changed and you have a few minutes to figure out what that original sequence was.

Why are PJ questions important?

Para-jumbles are significant because they have been regularly appearing in the CAT and other MBA entrance tests. There is a good chance of three Para-jumble questions appearing in the 20 questions of the Verbal Ability (VA) section.

Secondly and more importantly — PJs are one of those questions of the CAT in which you can improve your skills dramatically within a short span of time. It is probably one of the few areas of CAT VA where the scope of ambiguity is limited.

Types of PJ questions

Para-jumbles broadly fall in three categories. In each category, the jumbled sentences are coded with an alphabet (usually A, B, C and D).

4/5 sentences are given in a random order and you have to unjumble all of them. Toughest of the lot.

The opening sentence + 4/5 sentences are given and you have to rearrange the group of 4/5 sentences, having been given prior knowledge of the thought that starts off the flow of the discussion.

4/5 sentences + the closing sentence is given and you need to correctly sequence 4/5 sentences so that they flow into the last sentence.

Opening sentence + 4/5 Sentences + Closing Sentence are given. Easiest of the lot. You know where the story starts and where it ends. You only have to figure out the screenplay in between.

The smartest approach

The best approach to solving PJ questions is the ‘free fall’ one. That is, develop a high reading speed and scan all 4-5 sentences. Try to get a feel of what the passage is about.

At this point you need to decide whether this particular paragraph is one which you are comfortable with or not.

If you decide to go ahead, then scan the answer options. Are they of any help?

If, for example the options are,

a) BDAC b) BCAD c) CABD d) CBDA

Then you know for sure that this paragraph has to start either with B or C. A quick look at B and C will tell you which one looks like a better opening sentence and already your choices will be halved.

Similarly, with options,

a) BDCA b) CDBA c) DCAB d) ACDB

Then we know that it has to end with either B or A. So browse sentences A and B and see if any one of them look like a concluding sentence.

There might be other indicators to keep an eye out for. For example if three of the five options start with A and the other two with C/B/D there is a good probability that A is the starting sentence.

If, say, a link CB occurs in more than 2 options then it is something worth paying attention to.

PJ strategies to save time and increase accuracy

Approach 1:

Once upon a time long ago… / …and they lived happily after: Identify the opening/closing sentence using what we discussed above. Either the tone of the paragraph or the option elimination method.

Approach 2:

Where’s the interlock dude? Identify links between two sentences and try to see if that link exists in multiple answer options (a sure way to know that you are on the right track). A combination of 1 and 2 will take you home most of the time.

Place your magnifying glass on the following,

Approach 2a: Make it ‘personal’. Look out for personal pronouns (he, she, it, him, her, you, they). Personal pronouns always refer to a
person, place or thing. Therefore, if a sentence has a personal pronoun without mentioning the person, place or object it is referring to, mark it in your head and scan the paragraph for the original person, place or object that it refers to.

For example if you go back to the opening jumbled paragraph of this article, the third sentence starts with ‘it’. We now need to figure out what ‘it’ refers to and the sentence containing the original ‘it’ will come before this sentence.

Approach 2b: Look for ‘Poriborton’ (Change, in Mamata Banerjee’s tongue). Certain words called ‘transition words’ help the author to shift from one thought flow to another. In other words, they usher in change. Some transition words that appear regularly are — hence, besides, simultaneously, in conclusion, etc. While you practice PJs whenever you come across a transition word — note it down. Make a list!

Approach 2c: Demonstrate! Look for demonstrative pronouns — this, that, these, those, etc. Again, if you look at our opening paragraph, the first line starts with ‘for this’ — now we know that we need to figure out what ‘this’ refers to and the sentence containing the original ‘this’ will come before this sentence.

Approach 3:

Main samay hoon! Sometimes the events mentioned in the paragraph can be arranged in a chronological order making it easy for you to identify the sequence. Example,

Alexander Bain, Scottish clockmaker, patented the electric clock.

The next development in accuracy occurred after 1656 with the invention of the pendulum clock.

Clocks have played an important role in man’s history.

Spring-driven clocks appeared during the 15th century, although they are often erroneously credited to Nuremberg watchmaker Peter Henlen around 1511.

It is quite obvious by studying the chronology what the sequence should be.

Approach 4:

The Abbreviation Approach. Sometimes you will find that for some terms in the paragraph both the full form and the abbreviation have been used. For Example IMF — International Monetary Fund, Charles Dickens — Dickens, Dr Manmohan Singh — Dr Singh. In these cases where both the full form as well as the abbreviation is present in different sentences, then the sentence containing the full form will obviously come before the sentence containing the abbreviation.

Approach 5:

What an Idea Sirji! If there are two sentences, one containing an idea and another giving examples of the same idea then the sentence containing the idea should come before the sentence containing the examples. But they need not necessarily be exactly side by side. Example,

Russia possesses the largest stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the world.

489 missiles carrying up to 1,788 warheads and 12 submarines carrying up to 609 warheads form a looming threat.

A will come before B in this case, even though there might be sentences in between.

Approach 6:

An article of faith. It is highly unlikely that the definite article ‘the’ will be part of an opening sentence. If ‘a/an’ and ‘the’ both are used for the same noun then the sentence containing ‘the’ will come after the sentence containing a/an.

GRAMMAR

Poor grammar makes for a poor impression! Thus, proficiency in this section becomes all the more critical. Grammar is a vast see which cannot be covered in any module. But students attempting CAT need not be grammar experts. What is required is that the aspirants develop ability in functional usage of words, idioms and phrases. This can be achieved by going through any book that gives a summary of the rules of grammar. Thompson and Martinet's 'A Practical English Grammar' would be a good starting point. Remember, however, that there is no shortcut to grammar.

Therefore we suggest the aspirants that the basic method to prepare grammar section would be to first complete the basics of grammar, and then start by practicing through attempting as many questions as possible.

Here we will provide some useful information on agreements between Subject and Verb, de-obfuscating commonly confused words, Phrasal Verbs, etc.

Subject: The part of a sentence that commonly indicates what it is about, or who or what performs a particular action. The simple subject consists of the specific noun or pronoun that is doing the action or whose state of being is being described.

Example,

The most hardworking student in my class never sleeps much.

The simple subject of the sentence is student because the student performs the action. The complete subject of the sentence includes the simple subject and all words that modify it: The most hardworking student in my class.

Verb: The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence. In other words the ‘doing word’. It may also express a state of being.

Example,

The most hardworking student in my class never sleeps much.

The verb ‘sleeps’ describes the action of the sentence.

Example,

Consequently, he is always fresh.

The verb ‘is’ describes the state of being of the subject, he.

Generic Rules

1. Agreement in Number: SVA implies that if the subject is plural (cats), then the verb needs to be plural (meow). If the subject is singular (cat) then the verb needs to be singular (meows).

Do remember that verbs do not form their plurals by adding an ‘S’ as nouns do. In order to determine which verb is singular and which one is plural, think of which verb you would use with he or she and which verb you would use with they.

runs, run

Which one is the singular form? Which word would you use with he? We say, “He runs.” Therefore, runs is singular. We say, “They run.” Therefore, run is plural.

2. Agreement in Person: Sentences are written in either first, second, or third person, based on the author’s viewpoint. If a sentence is written in first person, the writer is writing about herself/himself, using pronouns such as I and we. In a second-person sentence, the writer speaks directly to the reader, using the pronoun you. Third-person sentences generally refer to their subjects by name or with pronouns like he, she, it,or they.

Often, there will be a change in the form of the verb, depending on whether its subject is in first, second, or third person. For example, the singular first-person, second-person, and third-person forms of the verb are completely different from each other as seen below,

I am hungry. ( am – a first-person subject)

You are hungry. ( are – a second-person subject)

He is hungry. ( is – third-person subject)

There are some additional rules that will help you to maintain SVA in Sentence Correction questions of MBA entrance examinations.

Importance of Punctuation

Let's eat, Grandpa!

Let's eat Grandpa!

For example, when we write “each of my sons,” the verb must agree with the singular subject each instead of the plural noun sons. And the singular subject “everyone who knows my sons” should be followed by the singular “is impressed by them,” and not “are impressed by them.”

Note: There is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either singular or plural

Example,

A subject made up of two or more nouns or pronouns joined by and take a plural subject, unless that subject is intended to be singular.

He and I run every day. (Plural)

Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich. (Singular)

When a subject is made up of nouns joined by or, the verb agrees with the last noun.

He or I run every day.

Potatoes, pasta, or rice pairs well with grilled chicken.

Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement. Connectives, phrases such as combined with, coupled with, accompanied by, added to, along with, together with, and as well as, do not change the number of the subject. These phrases are usually set off with commas

The dog, who is barking noisily, is usually very well behaved.

The team captain, as well as his players, is disappointed.

When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor, put it second and follow it with the singular verb am.

Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or/nor , the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb.

Collective nouns (team, couple, staff, committee etc.) take either a singular or plural verb depending on whether the emphasis is on the individual units or on the group as whole.

The committee was divided over the issue. [Tip: Think of it as — The committee (members) were divided over the issue.]

The cricket team is practicing for the World Cup.

With words that indicate portions — percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder and so forth — look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

70% of the cake has been eaten

70% of the cakes have been eaten

Practice

As in any other subject regular and continuous practice is the key to success. There is no magic wand! After every Grammar lesson – this what you should be doing,

Refer to your grammar book and go to the related chapter. Solve the exercise problems given at the end of the chapter. More than just mugging the rules you should be focusing on these practice questions.

Use online resources for additional practice

If you are really diligent and serious about the CAT – while you are doing your online research – keep open a word doc into which you copy paste all the material that you come across on the particular topic. Save the word document with the relevant name e. g. -Subject Verb agreement and you have a ready-reckoner for revision when the CAT is just round the corner. CAT is not only about working hard but also about working smart!

For some time now CAT has been testing aspirants on a particular type of vocabulary question. These types of questions can be labeled as Commonly Confused Words. Like the difference between historic and historical, when to use accept and when to use except, Further and Farther, Sensual and Sensuous, etc.

Here we will discuss some utmost important points for the aspirants of CAT 2016.

Format:

Typically a sentence is given which has a blank. Two alternatives are provided for filling up the blank. The aspirant has to use his/her knowledge of English vocabulary to select the right word to fit into the blank. Of course this being the CAT – it does not stop at that – one has to solve 5 sentences like these to be able to arrive at one correct answer! This means you have to solve all the sentences very carefully. Even if you get one of the sentences wrong the correct answers in all the other sentences would not fetch any marks.

Sample question from CAT 2007

Sentences

Regrettably [A] / Regretfully [B] I have to decline your invitation.

I am drawn to the poetic, sensual [A] / sensuous [B] quality of her paintings.

He was besides [A] / beside [B] himself with rage when I told him what I had done.

As the water began to rise over [A] / above [B] the danger mark, the signs of an imminent flood were clear.

Answer Choices

(1) BAABA (2) BBBAB (3) AAABA (4) BBAAB (5) BABAB

As you can see in the above question you have to pick the right word for the blanks in Sentences 1-5 and the correct combination among the Answer Choices 1-5 has to be selected.

Accept and Except.

While they sound similar (or even identical), except is a preposition that means “apart from”, while accept is a verb that means “agree with”, “take in”, or “receive”. Except is also occasionally used as a verb, meaning to take out or to leave out.

Standard: We accept all major credit cards, except Diners Club.

Standard: Men are fools… present company excepted! (Which means, “present company excluded”)

Non-standard: I had trouble making friends with them; I never felt excepted.

Non-standard: We all went swimming, accept for Jack.

Altar and Alter

Altar: a sacred table in a church

Alter: to change

Amoral and Immoral

Amoral: not concerned with right or wrong

Immoral: not following accepted moral standards

Appraise and Apprise

Appraise: to assess

Apprise: to inform someone

Assent and Ascent

Assent: agreement, approval

Ascent: the action of rising or climbing up

Aural and Oral

Aural: relating to the ears or hearing

Oral: relating to the mouth; spoken

Defuse and Diffuse

Defuse: Remove the fuse from an explosive device.

Diffuse: Spread over a wide area

Moot and Moor

Moot: Subject to debate; arguable

Moor: To make fast (a vessel, for example) by means of cables, anchors, or lines

Amended and Emended

Amended: To remove the faults or errors in; correct.

Emended: To improve by critical editing.

Ingenious and Igneous

Ingenious: Marked by inventive skill and imagination.

Igneous: Of, relating to, or characteristic of fire.

Prudent and Prudish

Prudent: Wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense.

Prudish: Marked by or exhibiting the characteristics of a prude (One who is excessive).

Practice: Book - Better English by Normal Lewis.

Do you back up or back away or back down? Break away / Break down / Break up? Call back / call off/ call on? Do you find it difficult to differentiate among them? Then, welcome to Phrasal Verbs! To start with, let’s find out the difference between ordinary usage and phrasal verbs,

I got on the No. 8 bus at Banerjee Road. vs I boarded the No. 8 bus at Banerjee Road.

I really need to get on with my paper! vs I really need to continue writing!

We need to get on together to succeed. vs We need to understand each other to succeed.

We’ll have to be getting on soon, or we’ll be late. vs We should leave soon, or we’ll be late.

As you can see the same meaning is conveyed by the pair of sentences but while one of them uses a single word, the other uses a phrasal verb.

Definition – A Phrasal Verb is a combination of words in any of the following forms:

VERB + PREPOSITION

VERB + ADVERB

VERB + ADVERB + PREPOSITION

Very often the phrasal verb (PV) has a meaning which is quite different from the original verb. This makes it slightly difficult for the new learner because, even if he breaks down the phrasal verb into different words and looks up its meaning in the dictionary, he will not be able to understand the meaning of the phrasal verb itself.

I talked my mother into letting me borrow the car. Here, mother is the object for the verb

Example:

I ran into an old friend yesterday.

Verb + preposition / adverb

Some phrasal verbs are intransitive. An intransitive verb cannot be followed by an object.

Some phrasal verbs are transitive. A transitive verb can be followed by an object.

Some transitive phrasal verbs are separable. The object is placed between the verb and the preposition.

Some transitive phrasal verbs are inseparable. The object is placed after the preposition.

Some Phrasal Verbs are discussed below to illustrate how different meanings can be obtained from the same word

BREAK

break down = fail to function

break in = interrupt a discussion; burgle

break off = discontinue (relationship etc.)

break out = escape from prison

break up = end a relationship

CALL

call back = return a phone call

call for = require

call off = cancel

call out = read names aloud

call on = request somebody to do something

call up = reach by phone

FALL

fall apart = fall into pieces

fall behind = fail to keep up pace

fall for = be in love with; deceived by

fall off = decrease

fall out with = quarrel with

fall through = fail, miscarry

What is the relevance of Phrasal Verbs in the CAT?

Phrasal Verbs are used quite frequently in everyday spoken English. That itself makes them very important! Apart from this, PV is tested in the CAT in the following form. A sample word is taken and four different sentences are constructed using the sample word. One has to identify which of the sentences has incorrect usage.

Example:

Sample Word: Hand

I have my hand full I cannot do it today.

The minister visited the jail to see the breach at first hand

The situation is getting out of hand here.

When the roof of my house was blown away, he was willing to lend me a hand.

Make sure that you research the above phrasal verbs and thoroughly understand the different ways in which these phrasal verbs can be used.

VOCABULARY

For CAT, a good vocabulary is very essential, although CAT does not test candidates on their knowledge of difficult words directly. This is because the passages and answer options given in the Reading Comprehension section may have some difficult words. Not knowing their meaning could decrease the candidate’s ability to understand the passage. Also, consider what may happen if you do not know the meaning of a word contained in one of the options: your ability to make the correct answer choice may be seriously compromised.

An innovative way to remember the meanings of certain words is to know their origin. Quite a few words have an interesting origin, and there is a story, legend or myth associated with them. A number of words come to us from Roman or Greek mythology. Very often, we find that we remember the story more than the meaning per se-and that it helps us recall the meaning of the word itself.

Few useful tips for improving your vocabulary are as follows:

Make your base strong - You must commence with reading magazines and other reading materials as this will help you to come across more and more words that you can learn. To have a strong command over the language you must make your base strong. Read anything that comes your way as this will steadily aid you to gain knowledge about more words as well as the grammar.

Read a lot - You must read a lot in order to gain expertise. Remember, merely knowing new words will not help to score high marks. You must be well versed and know the right words. This can be facilitated by reading a lot of books, journals and other stuff. Also, you can browse the net to do value additions as the vocabulary section of www.mbarendezvous.com will help you improve your vocabulary tremendously.

Practice what you read- It is not possible to memorize all the new words that you have learnt as it will be very difficult and time consuming. The best way is to practice these words in your everyday conversation. This could a smart way to learn the words as well as know their meaning.

Look at synonyms and Antonyms - Learning new words is of no use if you are do not remember their meaning. In order to simplify the process of learning the meaning of new words, look at the synonyms and try to relate the difficult word with the simple ones.

For instance, the word jeopardy means the same as danger, threat or hazard. Try to find more simple words and relate them as this will help you to know the meaning and remember them easily.

Similarly, antonyms or the opposite words will make you understand not only the word but also it’s usage and limitations.

Play crosswords and scrabble – Try to spend some time by indulging in activities like solving crosswords and playing scrabble as this will help you to learn more words and you can also learn from the other person who is playing with you.

Take vocabulary test - By taking up the vocabulary test you can know where you stand and what the room for improvement is. The more tests you take the more you learn.

Refer a dictionary - Always refer a dictionary and look for meaning of the words you don't know. Having a dictionary with will help you to know more words quickly as you have a help at hand ready with you.

You can make your learning fun filled by getting excited about every new word. You should be able to appreciate subtle differences between words. Learn to say what you really mean and discover the joys of being able to express yourself in writing. Your future can depend on how affluent your vocabulary is. It will also determine the quality of your communication. So, be in it for the long pull. Let building your vocabulary be a lifelong proposition. Remember: "In the beginning was the word." Until you have a word for something, it does not exist for you. Name it, and you have made your reality richer.

READING COMPREHENSION

Reading Comprehension comprises two parts — Reading + Comprehension. A CAT aspirant should be able to read at a fairly good speed and also grasp the material presented in very little time. In a knowledge-based economy, reading and comprehension skills would be essential. You would need RC skills to analyze data, information and take good decisions. Information + RC = Knowledge.

You can become confident in RC by following the below mentioned tips:

Reading

Measure your Reading Speed:

You should start by calculating your reading speed and then working on improving it. Plenty of websites and software help you measure your reading speed. Begin by measuring your reading speed on screen using a website such as www.readingsoft.com. It will give you a quick estimate of your reading speed by asking you to read a small passage under a timer. As you work on improving your reading speed, monitor it using such a tool from time to time.

Improving your Reading Speed:

An average reading speed is in the range of 200 to 300 wpm (words per minute). Reading speeds vary depending on what you are reading and in what environment. Steps to improve your reading speed,

Scanning: Learn to ‘scan’ the material you read — Headings, titles, chapters and any other relevant divisions that might serve to break the reading down into blocks.

Adjustment: You should learn to adjust your reading speed as you read the passage. Slow down when you want to be sure about having comprehended a difficult section. Pump up your speed if you feel the need to skim through familiar sections.

Ignore what is not important: You should focus on the key words in the sentences. A lot of time during reading is wasted on conjunctions, prepositions or articles. Eliminate these from the horizons of your focus.

Read in blocks: While reading, try to read blocks of words together. You can boost your reading speed by absorbing several words in a line at one time, instead of reading each word or focusing on each letter of the word. Instead of reading each word as constituted of individual letters, store a pictorial image of the words in your mind so that whenever you encounter that word, its mere shape and visual structure leads you to identify it instantly, within fractions of a second. Without having actually ‘read’ that word!

Having said all the above, the CAT in its online avatar has not been featuring very large RC passages so the role played by reading speed has reduced to some extent. But in exchange, the role of comprehension has correspondingly increased!

Comprehension

Here is a suggested workflow to tackle and improve your comprehension.

Step 1

When you start attempting an RC passage, you need to quickly skim through it to understand

What the author is talking about.

What are the key words in the passage?

Is the piece about theology, geology, economics or something else?

Are you comfortable with it?

You have to make a decision here, whether you want to proceed with solving it or not? If you decide to continue, then jump directly to

Step 2 — else skip to the next RC passage. In the actual test, you have the right to choose your RC passages. You don’t have to even solve them in the same sequence they are in the paper.

Step 2

Take a very hard look at the first paragraph of the passage. Here, your task will be to mentally paraphrase or summarize it in your own words. If you find yourself able to do it, go ahead with that RC passage. Else skipping it is advised.

Step 3

Once you decide to solve an RC paragraph, take a look at the accompanying Questions (without looking at the answer options. That will confuse you). Identify the data points asked for in the Questions. This will put you on the lookout for those data points when you read the passage.

Step 4

Read the piece. Never graduate to the next paragraph until and unless you can summarize the current paragraph in your head. There are candidates who read entire passages and not have a clue about what the author is talking about.

Step 5

Now you come to the crux of the matter. Either while reading the passage itself or after completing the reading, you should be able to answer the questions.

Beware

Do not get into ego hassles over questions:

This often happens when a person has read the full RC passage and managed to answer 3 or 4 questions out of the total 5 very quickly. I would suggest that it is time to move on. Don’t be under the impression that just because you have read the whole passage you HAVE to answer every single question. Some questions are there to just waste your time. They are called the ‘Speed Breakers’.

Answering by elimination:

Sometimes, you can solve the RC questions by eliminating all the answer options until one answer option remains which seems to fit in and is your answer.

Dilemmas:

If you come to a juncture where you think you have narrowed the options down to two by elimination but can’t seem to be sure thereafter, means that you have not successfully comprehended the passage. At this point, you can either opt to take a calculated guess (if you have attempted other sections very well) or just leave the question alone.

How to ace LR?

Important Tips for Logical Reasoning ( LR )

Questions must be studied carefully. A brief explanation of why each choice is correct or incorrect follows each practice question. If you understand this reasoning for the practice items, you will do well on the actual assessment.